Improvement in oloth-plxte foe sewing machine



E. H. CRAIGE;

Cloth Plate for Sewing Machines.

No. 67,635. Patented Aug. 13, 1867.

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E. H. CRAIGE, or BRO OKLYN, NEW YonK.

letters Patent No. 67,635, dated August 13, 1857.

IMPROVEMENT IN CLOTH-PLATE FOR SEWING MACHINE.

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To ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, E. H. CRAIGE, of 334 Fulton street, in Brooklyn, inthe county of Kings, in the State of New York, have invented a new anduseful improvement in Sewing Machines; and I hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisspecification, in which drawing- Figure Ireprcscnts a longitudinalvertical section of this invention. Figure 2 is a plan or top view ofthe same, the throat'piece having been removed to expose the partsbelow. Figure 3 is an inverted plan of the throat-piece detached.Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in the manner of constructingthe throat-piece of a sewing machine,

and attaching the same to the cloth-plate, said improvement beingparticularly applicable to the Wheeler and Wilson machine, but which canalso be used on machines of different construction.

The invention consists in combining with the cloth-plate of a \Vhcelerand Wilson machine a throat-piece which extends over the feeder, andwhich, when removed, furnishes an opening by which the feeder may beremoved and the running parts cleaned and oiled. Said throat-piece isheld in place by putting one part of it, or an attachment to it, underand against aprojecting part of the machine or its plate, the oppositepart being held to the machine or plate by any well-known means, such asa button or catch on one piece turning over or under the other, and theother sides or parts held by contact with the surrounding or adjoiningparts of the machine or plate. If desired, the throat-piece may be heldin place simply by one or more buttons situated on" its under side, andattached to the same by a screw or rivet, or its equivalent, extendingthrough said throatpiece in such a manner that the button or buttons canbe readily turned by a screw-driver or key, and made to catch under somefixed part of the machine or plate, and thus hold the throat-piecethereto.

A represents the cloth plate of an ordinary Wheeler andWilson machine,said cloth-plate being secured to the frame or bed of the machine byfour (more or less) screws, .9, in the usual manner. 13 is thethroat-piece, or thatportion of the cloth-plate immediately surroundingthe aperture for the feed-points and for the needle. This throatpiece isusually mademovable, in order that it may be renewed, (it wearing outsooner than the other parts of the plate,) or that other pieces suitedto special purposes (such as fine or oarse work, &c*.,) may be insertedin its stead, and in ordinary plates said throat-piece is small'andanswers no other purpose than that above named. The feeder of themachine, which has often to be removed in order to properly clean andoil it and other adjacent parts, is covered by the clotlrplate, which isheld in place by three or more screws, and in order to reach said feederand the adjacent parts, these screws must be taken out and the plateremoved. The continual turning of the screws wears them and the plate tosuch an extent that in time said plate is liable to get out-of itsproper place and cause the breaking or bending of needles. In theoperation of removing and replacing the plate, even skillful operatorsoften dull or break the needles, and inexperienced ones had considerableother trouble and difficulty, especially in getting the plate-cam andthefccd-bar i their p p relative positions. All these disadvantages Ihave obviated by extending the throat-piece B to such a distance overthe feeder that by removing the same an aperture is producedthrouglrwhich the feeder and adjacent parts can be easily reached, sothat the feeder can be removed and all the parts cleaned and oiledwithout taking off the-cIoth plate. As ordinarily constructed, thethroat-piece is attached to the plate by projecting tongues sliding ingrooves, or other equivalent means, and it is inserted in a directionopposite to that in which the cloth is fed, and in consequence thereofthe movement of the cloth and of the feeder, together with the jar ofthe Working parts, tends to move it from its proper position andobstruct the working of the machine, causing the breakage of needles,and other injuries, unless some means are resorted to for holding saidthroat-piece in place, such as putting in a set-screw, which consumestime, or fitting the movable piccc so tight that the friction will holdit, whereby the operation of removing the same is rendered diflicult, orother well-known means, all of which involve trouble and loss of time.Furthermore, in machines of the ordinary construction the feeder is insuch a position that it will not allow the throat-piece sullicienthorizontal motionto go in or out unless the plate is loosened from itsbed and raised above its proper level. These difliculties are obviatedin my machines,

cmaa 2 where the throat-piece is held at one end by a lip, a, on theplate, projecting over the bevelled edge of said throat-piece, and atthe opposite end by one or more buttons, 6, which are secured to theunder surface of the throat-piece, and can be made to catch under theedge of the elothplate; or, instead of the lip a, any other suitableprojection attached to the plate or bed of the machine maybe made tocatch over any fixed part of the throat-piece, and insteadpfi buttonssuitable cams or catches might be used, said catches being securedeither to the plate or throat-piece, and made to catch in suitableloops, hooks, or eyes, on the other part By this arrangement it isliterally impossible for the most inexperienced operator to put-thethroat-piece in except itbe right. The buttons 6 are'attaehed to screwsor rivets, a, (see fig. 3,) which turn in suitable sockets in thethroatpiece, and which canbe easily turned with a screw-driver or key,and as soon as the buttons are turned in the proper position a slighttouch on the under surface of the throat-piece issufiicient to removethe same, and all trouble and loss of time in the removal of said pieceare avoided.

It must be remarked that most of the advantages claimed for thisinvention were possessedby the-improvement described in Letters Patentgranted to me February 19, 1867, but that is more troublesome andexpensivQ to make, requires more time-to remove and replace, has morepieces to get lost or injured, and presents a more complicatedappearance to learn ers.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In the Wheeler and Wilson and other sewing machines with a raised andmovable cloth-plate, the combination with theclotluplate A of athroat-piece, B, that extends over the feeder and furnishes an openingby which the feeder may be removed and the running parts cleaned andoiled without removing the cloth-plate,

as set fortlr V 2. In the Wheeler and Wilson and other sewing machineswith a raised and movable cloth-plate, any throatpiece which is held inplace'at one part by aslip, a, or its equivalent, and at the oppositepart by one or more buttons or catches b, substantially as and for thepurpose shown and described. i

3. The arrangement, on the under side of the throat-piece B, of-one ormore buttons or catches, in combination with screws or-rivets passingthrough to the upper surface, by means of which, with a screw-driver orkey, said buttons can be turned, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

E. H. CRAIGE;

Witnesses:

H. G. HULL, W. HAUFF.

